There are certain moments in your life that you don’t fully appreciate until years later. Not because they weren’t important at the time, but because when you’re young, you’re so busy chasing the next opportunity that you sometimes forget to stop and appreciate what’s happening right in front of you.
For me, one of those moments was when HP decided to put the HardwareGeeks.com logo on their laptops.
Yes, you read that correctly. Hewlett-Packard, one of the biggest technology companies in the world, put the logo of my little technology website on their machines.
And to this day, I still think that’s pretty damn cool.
A Little Website Called HardwareGeeks.com
When I started HardwareGeeks.com, I was just a young guy who loved technology. I loved computers, gadgets, taking things apart, figuring out how they worked, and telling people whether something was worth spending their hard-earned money on.
I wasn’t backed by a major publishing company. I didn’t have a giant editorial staff or millions of dollars behind me.
I had a website, a passion for technology, and a willingness to put in the work.
Back then, getting noticed wasn’t easy. There were established technology publications with massive audiences, advertising budgets, and relationships with every major manufacturer. Then there were people like me, trying to make a name for themselves.
But something wonderful happened along the way.
People started paying attention.
And some of those people worked for companies I had grown up admiring.
The HP tx1000 and tx2000: A Moment I’ll Never Forget
When HP introduced its Pavilion tx1000 and later the tx2000 series of tablet PCs, I was fortunate enough to be involved during a time when HP was doing some really exciting things with portable computers.
These weren’t your typical laptops. They featured rotating touchscreens, tablet functionality, and stylus support. At the time, having a laptop that could transform into a tablet was pretty futuristic.
But what made these machines special to me wasn’t just the technology.
It was that HP put the HardwareGeeks logo on them.
I still have a photograph of one of those laptops, and if you look closely at the bottom-right corner, you’ll see that little gold-colored HardwareGeeks logo.
That logo might not mean much to someone looking at the picture today. But to me, it represents something much bigger than a sticker on a computer.
It represents a company believing that what I was building mattered.
HP didn’t have to do that. They didn’t have to recognize my website or help promote my brand.
But they did.
And for a young writer trying to establish himself in the technology industry, that meant the world.
Dana Harrold: Someone Who Believed in Me
When I think about those years working with HP, one name immediately comes to mind.
Dana Harrold.
I remember working with Dana at HP, and what stands out to me all these years later isn’t just the professional relationship. It’s the fact that she believed in me.
At the time, I was still a young writer learning the business, building relationships, and trying to prove that HardwareGeeks deserved a place alongside the bigger technology publications.
Dana treated me like I belonged there.
She saw something in what I was doing and trusted me enough to give me opportunities that helped HardwareGeeks grow.
That kind of trust is something you never forget.
It’s easy to look at a major corporation and see nothing but a logo, a product, or a balance sheet. But behind those companies are real people who make decisions, build relationships, and sometimes take a chance on someone who hasn’t quite made it yet.
Dana was one of those people for me.
I don’t know if she ever realized how much her support meant to me, but I hope she does now.
I was honored. I was grateful. And I felt incredibly blessed that someone like Dana, working for a company like HP, had that kind of confidence in me.
And Then There Was Epson
HP wasn’t the only company that showed HardwareGeeks some love.
Epson did something that still makes me smile when I think about it.
They ran radio advertisements promoting their printers, and in those advertisements, they mentioned my name and HardwareGeeks.com.
Imagine that for a second.
I’m this young guy running a technology website, and a major international printer manufacturer is running radio commercials mentioning me and my little corner of the internet.
I wish I could explain how surreal that felt.
Today, companies pay influencers to mention their products. Sponsored content, influencer campaigns, and brand partnerships are everywhere.
But back then, the world of technology journalism and online publishing was very different.
Having a company like Epson recognize my work and include my name in its advertising was a huge deal to me.
It told me that the work I was putting into HardwareGeeks was reaching people, that my opinions had value, and that companies were actually listening.
More importantly, it reminded me that sometimes people see potential in you before you fully recognize it in yourself.
It Was Never Just About Computers
Looking back, I realize that HardwareGeeks was about much more than reviewing laptops, testing printers, or unboxing the latest gadgets.
It was about relationships.
It was about earning people’s trust.
And it was about discovering that a kid with a passion for technology could build something meaningful without having a big company behind him.
I got to work with people from companies I admired. I got to experience technology before most consumers ever saw it. I got to share my opinions, make videos, write reviews, and do something I genuinely loved.
And somewhere along the way, companies like HP and Epson decided that my work was worth supporting.
That’s something I will always be proud of.
A Little Gold Logo and a Whole Lot of Memories
Today, when I look at that old photograph of the HP tablet PC, I don’t see an outdated laptop running an old version of Windows.
I see a younger version of myself.
A guy who was excited every time a new product arrived at his doorstep. Someone who could spend hours testing a piece of hardware and then stay up half the night writing about it.
Someone who was building something without knowing exactly where it would lead.
And I see that little gold HardwareGeeks logo.
It’s funny how something so small can bring back so many memories.
To Dana Harrold, thank you for believing in me.
To the people at HP and Epson who trusted me and supported HardwareGeeks, thank you for giving a young writer opportunities that he still remembers all these years later.
You may have thought you were simply working with another technology website.
But to me, you were helping a young man realize that his passion, his work, and his voice actually mattered.
And that’s worth more than any laptop, printer, or piece of technology I ever reviewed.
Some computers become obsolete. Some websites eventually change. But the people who believed in you when you were just getting started? You never forget them.
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